A large-scale evaluation of the KiVa antibullying program: grades 4-6

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• School bullying and victimization are significant issues affecting youth development.
• Evidence on the effectiveness of school-based interventions for bullying has been mixed.
• The KiVa program is a widely implemented antibullying initiative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the KiVa antibullying program.
• To assess the program's impact on bullying and victimization in elementary school students.
• To determine if school-based programs can successfully reduce victimization.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 78 schools and 8,237 students (Grades 4-6).
• Schools were assigned to either the KiVa intervention or a control condition.
• Multilevel regression analyses were used to analyze the data after 9 months of implementation.

Main Results:

• The KiVa intervention showed consistent beneficial effects on 7 out of 11 dependent variables.
• Significant reductions were observed in self-reported victimization, peer-reported victimization, and self-reported bullying.
• The program demonstrated effectiveness in reducing both bullying perpetration and victimization.

Conclusions:

• The KiVa antibullying program is effective in reducing school bullying and victimization in Grades 4-6.
• Well-designed school-based interventions can successfully mitigate bullying and victimization.
• The findings support the implementation of evidence-based programs like KiVa in schools.